High pressure jet cleaning device

ABSTRACT

A machine for cleaning a surface by means of high pressure jets of liquid comprising a frame for mounting on a vehicle, a manifold on the frame, a plurality of lances in communication with said manifold, a plurality of nozzles in said lances for supplying fan-shaped jets of liquid for impingement on said surface to be cleaned, said nozzles being oriented to cause the jets to be inclined at an acute angle to the direction of motion of said vehicle and being proximate each other so as to clean a swath on said surface as said vehicle traverses said surface, and adjustment means for adjusting the inclination of the lances relative to the vertical and for adjusting the orientation of said nozzles relative to the direction of travel of said vehicle, and a plurality of pump units for supplying high pressure liquid to the manifold. The foregoing machine is used in a system which includes a source of water and a plurality of motor-pump units placed in parallel across the machine and the source for producing a sufficient quantity of water at a sufficiently high pressure for supplying the above described machine.

United States Patent [191 Foster et al.

[54] HIGH PRESSURE JET CLEANING DEVICE [73] Assignee: C. H. HeistCorporation, Buffalo,

22 Filed: Jan. 6, 1971 21 Appl.No.: 104,276

[52] US. Cl ..239/287, 239/175 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 484,524

7/1952 Canada ..51/l1 Primary Examiner-M. Henson Wood, Jr. AssistantExaminer John J. Love Attorneysommer, Weber & Gastel 57 T ABSTRACT Amachine for cleaning a surface by means of high pressure jets of liquidcomprising a frame for mounting on a vehicle, a manifold on the frame, aplurality of lances in communication with said manifold, a plurality ofnozzles in said lances for supplying fanshaped jets of liquid forimpingement on said surface to be cleaned, said nozzles being orientedto cause the jets to be inclined at an acute angle to the direction ofmotion of said vehicle and being proximate each other so as to clean aswath on said surface as said vehicle traverses said surface, andadjustment means for adjusting the inclination of the lances relative tothe vertical and for adjusting the orientation of said nozzles relativeto the direction of travel of said vehicle, and a plurality of pumpunits for supplying high pressure liquid to the manifold. The foregoingmachine is used in a system which includes a source of water and aplurality of motor-pump units placed in parallel across the machine andthe source for producing a sufficient quantity of water at asufficiently high pressure for supplying the above described machine.

10 Claims,19 Drawing Figures PAIENIEWR 3,726,481

SHEET. 1/ BF INVENTQR. I R Rqberi W. d R v 1 BY Willard F. er

W mm 0 ATTORNE YS PATENTEU APR 1 0 [973' SHEET 2 [IF 6 7 iLi 8 INVENTOR.

Wi Id Rqber'r WlllOl'd F. Foster SmM PATENTEDAPRJOIBB 3,726,481

SHEET 3 0F INVENTOR.

Robert W. Wild Willard F. Foster ATTORNEYS PATENIEDAPRIOIQYS 3,726,481

' SHEET 0F 'INVENTOR. ert W. Wild lord F. Foster ORNEYS PATENTEDAPR 10197s 1 sum 5 0F 6 Robert W...Wi|d. Willard F. Foster iE W/JM 4/71ATTORNEYS HIGH PRESSURE JET (ILEANING DEVICE The present inventionrelates to an improved device and system for cleaning large areas, suchas runways, by means of high pressure jets of water.

In the past the cleaning of rubber tire marks from airport runways hasbeen very difficult and costly. The tire marks on the runways had to beremoved from time to time because of the hazard which they posed. Firstof all, they obscured the markings on the runways and secondly, theycaused the runways to be hazardously slick during rainy weather. In thepast the runways were sometimes cleaned by the application of chemicalsolutions, which was time consuming and costly as well as in someinstances detrimental to the foliage on the sides of the runway.Abrasive devices were also used, such as rotating brushes or the likebut these where highly ineffective. In fact, there was no known way ofremoving the tire markings on runways in an efficient and reasonablyinexpensive manner.

It is accordingly the primary object of the present in-,

vention to provide a high pressure water jet type of cleaning apparatuswhich can clean rubber tire marks from runways in a highly efficient andeconomical manner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved systemfor supplying high pressure liquid to a, runway cleaning machine insufficient quantities and at sufficiently high pressures so as toperform effective cleaning.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedcleaning machine for cleaning airport runways by means of high pressurejets of liquid in which the jets are so oriented relative to each otherand relative to the runway so that they produce a highly efficientcleaning without in any way interfering with each other. Other objectsand attendant advantages of the present invention will readily beperceived hereafter.

The improved runway cleaning machine of the present invention includes aframe mounted on the front of the vehicle, a manifold on the frame, aplurality of adjacent nozzles in communication with the manifold witheach of the nozzles being of a configuration for supplying a fan-shapedjet of high pressure liquid, said jets being oriented relative to eachother to cause the jets to overlap each other transversely of thedirection of movement of said frame without interfering with each other,and means for supplying water to said nozzles in asufficient quantityand at a sufiiciently high pressure to effect cleaning of the surface.

The improved system of the present invention comprises a first conduitin communication with a source of liquid, such as a hydrant, a pluralityof second conduits in communication with said first conduit, a pluralityof motor-pump units severally in communication with said secondconduits, a plurality of third conduits severally in communication withsaid plurality of motor-pump units, and a vehicle mounted high pressurewater jet producing unit in communication with said third conduits.

The present invention will be more fully understood when the followingportions of the specification are read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the improved system of the presentinvention which is utilized for cleaning a runway or the like by meansof high pressure liquid jets;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the improved apparatus of thepresent invention mounted on the front of a suitable tractor;

FIG. 3 is a view taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 andshowing the improved apparatus in front elevation;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially alongline 4-4 of FIG. 3 and showing the manner in which the lances aresecured to the remainder of the frame;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken along line 5-5 ofFIG. 3 and showing the same subject matter as FIG. 4 but from adifferent view;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially alongline 6-6 of FIG. 3 and showing the relationship between the manifold andthe conduits leading therefrom;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially alongline 7-7 of FIG. 3 and showing the manner in which the front row oflances are secured to the frame, with certain portions of the apparatusbeing omitted in the interest of clarity;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially alongline 8-8 of FIG. 3 and showing the manner in which the rear row oflances are secured to the frame, with certain portions of the apparatusbeing omitted in the interest of clarity;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially alongline 9-9 of FIG. 3 and showing the manner in which the alignment memberis secured to the remainder of the frame and also showing theorientation of the first and second rows of lances relative to theframe;

FIG. 10 is a view taken substantially along line 10- 10 of FIG. 3 andshowing the manner in which the lower ends of the lances are secured toeach other;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially alongline 11-11 of FIG. 3 and showing details of the frame and the manner inwhich the lances are mounted thereon;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged perspective view showing the shape of the nozzleswhich are used to provide a fanshaped jet;

FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing in plan the orientation between thefirst and second rows of nozzles and showing how the jets producedthereby are oriented at an acute angle relative to the direction ofmovement of the vehicle;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view showing the fan-shaped jet produced by eachof the nozzles;

FIG. 15 is a view taken substantially in the direction of arrows 15-15of FIG. 14 for the purpose of showing that the fan jet possesses verylittle thickness in a lateral direction;

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of a system which includes an alternate typeof high pressure jet producing apparatus;

FIG. 17 is a side elevational view of a motor driven cart which suppliesa mixture of sand and water in the form of water jets for cleaning anairport runway and also includes a swivel connection for mounting thehigh FIG. 19 is a fragmentary side elevational view of an alternate formof sand-drum which may be mounted on the vehicle.

The improved high pressure jet-cleaning system of the present inventionis especially adapted for the cleaning of rubber tire marks from airportrunways.

' More specifically, the system utilizes a vehicle 11 in the traversesthe runway. The high pressure water is supplied to unit 12 by means ofa'plurality of flexible conduits 13, 14 and which are in communicationwith motor-pumping units 13', 14' and 15', which in this instance areautomotive trucks which carry motor-pump seen, lances 43 are located inalignment in a front row transversely across the vehicle.

A second row of lances is also provided, each of the lances beingdesignated by numeral 47 and these lances are located in a row whichlies rearwardly of the front row. Each of these lances is rigidlysecured to cross bar 37 by means of U-bolts 44 which are identical to U-bolts 44 described above and shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Furthermore,U-bolts 44' are used in conjunction with blocks 45' and 46' which areidentical to blocks 45 and 46 described above and shown in FIGS. 4 and5. As can be seen from FIGS. 3, 9 and 13, lances 47 are staggeredrelative to lances 43 so that the jets supplied by those in hereafter.

units for increasing the pressure of water which is supand 15' may beutilized to supply the high pressure water, as it would be highlyimpractical to use a single large unit for the quantities and pressuresrequired.

The high pressure jet producing unit 12 includes'a frame 21 consistingessentially of a pair of vertical boxlike sections or brace members 22and 23 which are secured in spaced relationship to each other bysuitable cross members. In this respect, as can be seen from FIGS. 3, 6and 11, manifold conduit 24 is a first cross member which is secured tomembers 22 and 23 by U- bolts 25 and 26, respectively, and manifoldconduit 27 is a second cross member which is secured to members 22 and'23 by U-bolts 28 and 29, respectively. Furthermore, as can be seen fromFIGS. 3 and 7, a cross bar 30 has its ends secured to sleeves 31 and 32by means of set screws 33, sleeves 31 and 32 being welded to channelmembers 34, and 35, respectively, which are secured to members 22 and23, respectively, by means of bolts 36 which extend through the sides ofchannels 34 and 35 and through brace members 22 and 23 (FIG. 7). A lowercrossv brace 37 (FIG. 8) has its ends received in sleeves 38 and 39 andis secured thereto by means of set screws 39'. Sleeves 38 and 39 in turnare rigidly affixed, as by welding, to channel-shaped membeta 40 and 4],respectively, which fit around brace members 22 and 23, respectively,and are secured thereto by means of bolts 42. It can thus be seen thatthe cross members 24, 27, 30 and 37 provide a rigid framework inconjunction with frame members 22 and 23.

A plurality of water conducting lances are secured to the cross members30 and 37. In this respect, as can best be seen from FIGS. 3, ll and 7,a plurality of lances 43 are secured to cross brace 30 by means of U-bolts 44 which extend around brace 30 and mount blocks 45and 46 whichbracket each of the lances 43 the second row will effectively fallbetween the jets supplied by those in the front row to thus produce acomplete swath, as will become more apparent The lower ends of lances 43are held between plates 48 and 49 which are secured to each other bybolts 50. The lower ends of lances 47 are secured to each other byplates 48' and 49' which are secured to each other by bolts 50' (FIG.11), elements 48', 49 and 50' being identical to elements 48, 49 and 50,respectively.

The upper ends of lances 43 arein communication with flexible conduits51 and the upper ends of lances 47 arein communication with flexibleconduits 52, all of saidlconduits being coupled to manifold 24 throughsuitable coupling members attached to nipples 53 which are incommunication with conduit 24.

Suitably mounted on the lower ends of each of the lances isa nozzle 54(FIG. 12) which produces a fanshaped jet 55 (FIGS. 14 and 15) which isextremely broad transverse of the direction of movement of the vehicleand which is relatively thin from a side view. This jet provides almosta knife-like cutting edge which is capable of cutting the accumulatedrubber from the surface of the runway. Essentially each nozzle 54consists of a body having a bore 54' therein which is intersected bygroove 55' at its outer end, the nozzle also having a threaded end 56'which is screwed into the end of the lances. Nozzle 59 is a commerciallyobtainable typeproduced by the Spraying Systems Corporation of Bellwood,Illinois, and is shown on page 30 in their Catalog No. 25-A,.publishedin 1966. These noz zles are of the general type shown in US. Pat. Nos.2,621,078, 2,683,627'and 2,701,412. As can best be seen from theschematic diagram of FIG. l3, the nozzles in the front row 58 areoriented relative to each other so that the jets 55 are oriented at a 20angle to the row in which they are located. Furthermore, it can be seenthat the nozzles 54 in the second row 59 are also oriented in the samemanner. The reason for nozzles in the manner shown so that the jets 55essenin the manner depicted in FIGS. 4 and 5. As can be tially lie at anangle of about 20 to the line in which they are located, the edge 56,for example, of one jet will not interfere with the edge 57 of anadjacent jet because the latter falls forward of the former. Theadjacent jets 55 of each row are preferably placed sufficiently close toeach other so that when they are viewed from the front of the vehicle,the edges of the jets will be seen to overlap each other. However, inthis particular embodiment this is not totally necessary inasmuch as thefront jets 55 in the front row 58 are staggered with respect tothe jetsin the rear row 59 so that the space between any two adjacent jets 55 infront row 58 is overlapped by a jet 55 in the rear row. By virtue, ofthe foregoing orientation a relatively wide swath can be produced on therunway as the vehicle traverses it and there will not be any linesbetween the adjacent jets because of the overlapping relationship notedabove between the jets produced by the nozzles in the front and rearrows. The reason that the jets in the rear row are staggered relative tothe jets in the front row is because each jet is less powerful at itsouter edges, so that the rear jet between the two front jet supplementsthe diminished cutting action at the outer edges of the front jets.

As also can be seen from FIG. 11, the lances themselves are inclined atan angle of approximately to the vertical. This causes the angle ofimpingement of the jets 55 to be such that a reasonably good cuttingaction is obtained which removes the foreign matter from the surface ofthe runway. It will be appreciated, of course, that with the nozzleswhich are used the above described angle of 20 for the orientation ofthe nozzles relative to each other and the angle of 20 for theorientation of the lances, relative to the vertical may be departed fromif desired depending on the material which is being cut or the type ofnozzle which is being used. In this respect the angle of the jetemanating from each nozzle can be-adjustedvery easily by loosening theU- bolt 44 which holds the lance in position and by rotating the lancemanually any desired amount and thereafter retightening the U-bolt. Theangle which the lance makes with the vertical can also be adjusted atthe same time when the U-bolt is loosened. Thus there is only oneconnector which has to be manipulated for adjusting the lance both forthe angle it makes with the vertical and for the angle which its jetmakes in a direction transverse to the frame. The foregoing is flexible.During the foregoing adjustments bolts 50 are respectively, which aremounted on the ends 71 and 72 of the spaced tractor arms 73 by means ofpins 74. Bars 75 and 76 are rigidly affixed to and extend rearwardlyfrom frame members 22 and 23, respectively, (FIGS. 6

' and 11). Ear 75 is secured to arm 77 of the tractor by loosenedsufficiently and then retightened after the adjustment has been made.

As noted above, the high pressure water IS supplied to conduits 27 and24 which comprise the manifold which is in communication with thelances. More specifically, conduits l4 and, 15 'are incommunication withconduit 24 through a suitably Y connection and conduit 13 is incommunication with conduit 27. At their other ends conduits 24 and 27are in communication with each other through tee 60 (FIG. 3), elbow 61and nipple 62. It can thus be seen that the water which is supplied bypumping units 13', 14' and 15' is received by the manifold consisting ofconduits 24 and 27. A pressure gauge 63 is in communication with conduit24 for indicating the pressure which is being used.

Another conduit 64 is in communication with the manifold and leads to ahand operated valve 65 mounted on the vehicle next to the driver's seat,valve 65 in turn being in communication with dump hose 66. If for anyreason it is desired to terminate high pressure liquid flow to nozzles54, it is merely necessary to manipulate valve 65 and this in turn willcause the water being supplied by the pumping unit to effectively bypassthe lances 43 and 47 and this water will be dumped at a lower pressurethrough dump conduit 66.

pin 78 and ear 76 is secured to an arm 79 of a tractor, whichcorresponds to arm 77, by means of pin 80. One link 81 secures ears 69and to each other as shown in FIG. 11, and the other link 81' connectsears 70 and 76. Links 81 are secured to pins 78 or 74. As can best beseen from FIG. 2, a hydraulic motor 82 consisting of a cylinder 83 and apiston 84 is interposed between vehicle frame member 85 and link 77. Itwill be appreciated that piston 84 is locked relative to cylinder 83because of the triangle formed by links 77, 81 and 73, and thecorresponding triangle (not shown) associated with the other arm 73effects a similar result with a counterpart (not shown) of cylinder 83and piston 84.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2, 3 and 11, wheels 87 are pivotally mountedfor swiveling action on threaded shafts 88 which are adjustably receivedin the bottom portions of vertical braces 22 and 23. By manipulating thelocking screw 89 the shafts 88 may be loosened and thereafter threadeddownwardly or upwardly into'nuts 90 which are fixedly secured to theunderside of braces 22 and 23. By adjusting the exposed length of shafts88, the frame may be supported relative to the ground. The wheels 87maintain the elevation of nozzles 54 a predetermined distance above thesurface on which wheels 87 roll. This is necessary so that the desiredportion ofthe jet impinges on the surface.

In operation, the tractor 11 is driven lengthwise of the runway 10' in aforward direction so that the jets produced by the nozzles will exert acombined cleaning and abrading action on the surface of the runway. Ascan be seen, flexible conduits 13, 14 and 15 will follow along with thevehicle. After the limit of movement has been obtained in a forwarddirection, as determined by the length of conduits 13, 14 and 15, thetractor is reversed and backed up to return to its original startingpoint. Thereafter the foregoing procedure is repeated laterally of thepreceding run.

In order for the vehicle operator to gauge his position so as to causeadjacent swaths to overlap somewhat and thus to provide a thorough andcomplete cleaning action, a rod 91 is mounted transversely of thevehicle in oversized sleeves 92. Rod 91 carries a pointer 93 at itsouter end and this pointer is aligned with a line on the runway. After aswath has been cut the rod 91 is moved over and a pin 94 is inserted inrod 91 in a suitable hole. During the next run the operator maintainsthe pointer on the same line as he did on the previous run. This inessence causes the vehicle to be shifted laterally the amount the rod 91was shifted. The holes in rod 91 which receive pin 94 are spaced adistance apart which is supplied by the three motor-pump units 13', 14'and 15', each pumping 4 gallons per minute at 4,000 pounds per squareinch, the motors or engines each producing 100 brake horsepower.

In FIGS. 16-19 an alternate type of high pressure water jet producingsystem is shown which includes a vehicle 100 which is coupled to motorpump units 101 and 102 by means of high pressure water conduits 103 and104, respectively. Motor pump units 101 and 102 in turn are coupled toconduits 105 and 106 which are coupled to irrigation pipe or the like107 which is in communication with a suitable source of water, such as ahydrant 108. The system of FIG. 16 may be identical in all respects tothat described above in FIG. 1 except for the vehicle 100, and further,it may supply the water at the above described pressure of 4,000 poundsper square inch at the rate of 120 gallons per minute, as discussedabove.

Vehicle 100 includes a frame 109 which is mounted on a pair of rearwheels 110 and front wheels 111 which are pivotally mounted on casters112. A bracket 113 is secured to the rear wall 114 of frame 109 andmounts a gasoline engine 115 having an output sprocket 116 which iscoupled to sprocket 117 on wheel axle 118 by means of chain 119. It willbe appreciated that when sprocket 116 is driven, the vehicle 100 willmove and its movement is guided by means of an operator who walks behindit and grasps a pair of spaced handles 120.

The vehicle frame 109 includes a pair of spaced channels 121 which reston spaced channels 122 which are suitably secured to the bed frame 123.Vertical frame members 124 are suitably secured to the ends of channels121 and mount manifold 125 at their upper ends by means of U-bolts 126.Manifold 125 receives a supply of high pressure water, as will bedescribed in greater detail hereafter and this water is conductedupwardly through nipples 127 to flexible conduits 128 which are incommunication with lances 129 secured to cross bar 130 which in turn isaffixed to channels 121 by means of U-bolts 131. More specifically, eachof the lances 129 is'secured to bar 130 by means of U-bolt and blockconnections 132 which may be identical to the connections describedabove in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5 relative to the other embodiments ofthe invention. It can thus be seen that all of the lances 129 areattached to bar 130 and these may be moved in unison by virtue ofloosening and tightening set screws 133 mounted in sleeves 134 which istied down to the above-mentioned channels 121 by means of the U-bolts131. In other words, bar 130 may be rotated when set screws 133 areloosened and after the lances have been moved in unison to the desiredposition, set screws 133 are-retightened. Mounted on the ends of lances129 are nozzles 135 which may be identical to nozzles described aboverelative to the other embodiments of the invention and shown in FIG. 12,these nozzles supplying a fan-shaped jet of high pressure liquid asdescribed above. In this respect, nozzles 135 are oriented as describedabove, namely so that the fanshaped jets extend at an angle of about tothe direction of travel of the vehicle (longitudinal axis of thevehicle) so that adjacent portions of adjacent jets will overlaptransversely of the direction of motion of the vehicle withoutinterfering with each other. This was described above in detail in FIG.13.'It is to be noted that only one row of jets are used in theembodiment of FIGS. 18 and 19. One row also can be used in theembodiment of FIG. 4, provided the lances are moved sufficiently closeto each other. It is also to be noted from FIG. 17 that the lances 129are inclined at an angle of approximately 20 to the vertical, as in theother embodiments. It will be appreciated that both of the abovediscussed angles can be varied as required for optimum cleaning action,as the surfaces to be cleaned require. v

A pair of drums 137 and 137 are spacedly mounted on the vehicle framefor carrying a sand supply. Drums 137 and 137 are secured to channels122 by means of cables 138 having nuts 139 threaded thereon as shown inFIG. 17. Each of the drums includes a trap door 140 at the top thereoffor receiving the sand. As can be seen from FIG. 18, each of the drums137 and 137' is in communication with three lances. In this respect,conduits 141 extend between distributor 142 on drum 137 and three of thelances 129 and conduits 141' extend between a distributor (not shown)identical to distributor 142 mounted on drum 137' and three other of thelances 129. The distributor 142 and its counterpart each include a valvehandle such as 143 which controls the amount of sand passing through theconduits 141-141 A valve 144 is located between the end of each of theconduits 141 and a venturi 145, which is located in each lance proximatenozzle 135. The remainder of the lances have associated with them valves144' and venturis 145' which are the same as members 144 and 145,respectively. It will be appreciated that when valves 144 and 144' areopened a sufficient amount, the flow of the liquid to venturis 145 and145' will entrain a certain amount of dry sand into the liquid so thatthe jets emanating from nozzles 135 have a sandblast action along withthe high pressure jet cutting action.

An alternate type of sand supply is shown in FIG. 19 which includes adrum 147 which may replace drums 137 and 137'. This drum includes abracket 148 mounted thereon which in turn mounts motor 149 which drivesshaft 150 having spaced paddles 151 axially mounted thereon but orientedat spaced circumferential locations. Drum 147 contains a mixture of sandand water- Paddles 151 agitate the mixture to keep the sand insuspension and it is this mixture which is fed to venturis, such as 145and 145' through the above described conduits 141 and 141 rather thanthe dry sand described above. It will be appreciated that a suitablesand injection arrangement such as shown in FIGS. 17-19 can beincorporated in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-15. v

The vehicle of FIGS. 17 and 18 includes an arrangement which permits itto be turned at the end of its travel along the runway without causingentanglement of the hoses 103 and 104 carried thereby. This is incontrast to the action of the embodiment shown in the preceding figureswherein the jet cleaning action could be performed efficiently only whenthe vehicle traveled in one direction on the runway but not on thereturn direction. In this respect, the vehicle mounts a frameworkconsisting of a rear column 152 and a pair of spaced converging frontcolumns 153. The top of column 152 is secured to angle 154 and the topsof columns 153 are secured by angles 155. Secured between angles 154 and155 is a pivotal connector 156 having a lower portion including an elbow157 secured to tee 158 and having conduits 159 extending therefrom,which in turn are connected to tee 160, which is in communication withmanually controlled valve 16 having a handle 162 thereon. By suitablemanipulation of handle 162 communication may be effected. betweenconduits 159 and conduits 163 leading to opposite sides of manifold 125.A pressure gauge 164 in one of the conduits 163 gives a reading of thepressure thereon. Handle 162 may also be manipulated to place tee 160 incommunication with dump conduit 165 having outlet 166 forwardly of thevehicle whereby a certain amount of the water may be dumped in the eventit is desired to reduce the pressure in manifold 125, without changingthe setting on the motor-pump units 101 and 102.

The upper portion 167 of swivel unit 156 is connected to a Y 168 whichis in communication with conduits 103 and 104. The upper portion 167 ofunit 156 is mounted for pivotal movement about a vertical axis relativeto the lower portion. Because of the swiveling action of portion 167 itcan be seen that vehicle 100 can be turned around 180 when it reachesthe end of the limit of its travel, as determined by the length of hoses103 and 104, without entangling of these hoses relative to the vehicle.Thus vehicle 100 can clean the runway in both directions of its travel.If desired a similar swivel arrangement can be mounted on the embodimentof FIGS. 1-15 to enable it to clean efficiently in both directions ofits travel. The additional advantage of being able to turn the vehiclearound so that it is always moving forwardly is to make it easier forthe vehicle operator, especially in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-15, as itis more difficult to back the vehicle than to drive it in a forwarddirection.

It can thus be seen that the improved cleaning apparatus of the presentinvention is manifestly capable of achieving the above enumeratedobjects and while preferred embodiments have been disclosed, it will beappreciated that the present invention may be otherwise embodied.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine for removing deposits such as rubber tire marks from asurface such as a runway by means of high pressure jets of liquidcomprising a frame, means for mounting said frame on a vehicle, aplurality of nozzles on said frame for providing a plurality offanshaped jets of liquid having knife-like cutting edges, means forconducting liquid to said nozzles with said liquid being at a pressuresufficient to cause said jets to remove said deposits from said surface,means mounting said nozzles across said frame to provide a continuousswath extending transversely to the direction of movement of saidvehicle, said nozzles having a first orientation which causes saidfan-shaped jets to be inclined to the vertical, and said nozzles havinga second orientation which causes each fan-shaped jet to be so inclinedrelative to an adjacent fan-shaped jet so as to cause them to overlap ina direction transversely of the direction of movement of said vehicle toprovide said continuous swath without intermingling with each otherprior to striking said' surface whereby each jet will not lessen theforce with which an adjacent jet strikes the surface to be cleaned.

2. A machine for cleaning a surface by means of high pressure jets ofliquid as set forth in claim 1 wherein said nozzles are also oriented infirst and second rows extending transversely of the direction ofmovement of said frame.

3. A machine for cleaning a surface by means of high pressure jets ofliquid as set forth in claim 2 wherein said nozzles of said second roware staggered with respect to the nozzles of said first row wherebycertain of the jets produced by the nozzles in said second row fallbetween the jets produced by certain of said nozzles in said first row.

4. A machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first orientation isapproximately 20 to the vertical.

5. A machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said nozzles are alignedsubstantially in a row and wherein said second orientation isapproximately at 20 to the axis of said row.

6. A machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pressure isapproximately at least 4,000 pounds per square inch.

7. A machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said liquid is supplied ata volume of approximately gallons per minute.

8. A machine as set forth in claim 7 wherein said pressure isapproximately at least 4,000 pounds per square inch.

9. A machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for conductingliquid to said nozzles includes first conduit means in communicationwith a source of liquid, second conduit means in communication with saidnozzles, and a swivel joint between said firstand second conduit meansto permit said frame to be rotated without accompanying rotation of saidfirst conduit means.

10. A machine for cleaning a surface by meansof high pressure jets ofliquid as set forth in claim 1 including dump valve means incommunication with said nozzles for selectively routing liquid awaytherefrom so as to terminate flow from said nozzles without terminatingflow of said liquid.

1. A machine for removing deposits such as rubber tire marks from asurface such as a runway by means of high pressure jets of liquidcomprising a frame, means for mounting said frame on a vehicle, aplurality of nozzles on said frame for providing a plurality offan-shaped jets of liquid having knife-like cutting edges, means forconducting liquid to said nozzles with said liquid being at a pressuresufficient to cause said jets to remove said deposits from said surface,means mounting said nozzles across said frame to provide a continuousswath extending transversely to the direction of movement of saidvehicle, said nozzles having a first orientation which causes saidfan-shaped jets to be inclined to the vertical, and said nozzles havinga second orientation which causes each fan-shaped jet to be so inclinedrelative to an adjacent fan-shaped jet so as to cause them to overlap ina direction transversely of the direction of movement of said vehicle toprovide said continuous swath without intermingling with each otherprior to striking said surface whereby each jet will not lessen theforce with which an adjacent jet strikes the surface to be cleaned.
 2. Amachine for cleaning a surface by means of high pressure jets of liquidas set forth in claim 1 wherein said nozzles are also oriented in firstand second rows extending transversely of the direction of movement ofsaid frame.
 3. A machine for cleaning a surface by means of highpressure jets of liquid as set forth in claim 2 wherein said nozzles ofsaid second row are staggered with respect to the nozzles of said firstrow whereby certain of the jets produced by the nozzles in said secondrow fall between the jets produced by certain of said nozzles in saidfirst row.
 4. A machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said firstorientation is approximately 20* to the vertical.
 5. A machine as setforth in claim 1 wherein said nozzles are aligned substantially in a rowand wherein said second orientation is approximately at 20* to the axisof said row.
 6. A machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pressureis approximately at least 4,000 pounds per square inch.
 7. A machine asset forth in claim 1 wherein said liquid is supplied at a volume ofapproximately 120 gallons per minute.
 8. A machine as set forth in claim7 wherein said pressure is approximately at least 4,000 pounds persquare inch.
 9. A machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means forconducting liquid to said nozzles includes first conduit means incommunication with a source of liquid, second conduit means incommunication with said nozzles, and a swivel joint between said firstand second conduit means to permit said frame to be rotated withoutaccompanying rotation of said first conduit means.
 10. A machine forcleaning a surface by means of high pressure jets of liquid as set forthin claim 1 including dump valve means in communication with said nozzlesfor selectively routing liquid away therefrom so as to terminate flowfrom said nozzles without terminating flow of said liquid.